LadyB

Hi,

Looking for some advice on staying in Sydney for 3'weeks Jan/Feb 2016.

Our no.1 daughter moved to Sydney a few weeks ago, however as she is in a shared house, it's unlikely we can stay with her so we're currently exploring other options. We will be in Sydney for around 8 days, then we're looking at heading up to Cairns for a few days, then heading to Brisbane to visit family then back to Sydney for around 5/6 days before coming home.

So, for our time in Sydney, we're not sure whether to look at hotels or serviced type apartments. I've browsed Airbnb but having never used it before, I'm unsure. We're looking for somewhere fairly central, close to the Pyrmont area where daughter lives but with good public transport links and preferably a pool.
Budget wise, I'm not sure, is approx £100 per night an unreasonable ask in Sydney during that period?
If anyone can suggest hotels/apartments given the above information, I'd be really grateful. TIA 😀

Exec_Plat

No specific guidance. If it were me, I might pick two different properties.. for the beginning and for the end. Decide based on her time to hang with you AND what you'll want to do.


GL

NZbutterfly

Given that location is a priority I suggest you search using google maps. Type in accommodation near sydney and it will come up with a bunch of red flags and you can zoom into various areas, and it also shows up a booking.com type list with pictures and prices. You can go to the website via google maps or open another tab to look these places up but it will guarantee you location at least in the vicinity.

I've not booked much in Sydney at all but in Oz I have to admit I quite like the serviced apartments. Oaks is a reasonable chain. I find you get a separate bedroom and separate living/lounge area ie more space which is nice and a full kitchen which is great if you're storing leftovers or wine or if you just want to put simple meals together - all for a much cheaper price than the same thing in a hotel. You can do laundry too. Laundry sachets came with the place but you can ask for more and I think there is a fitness centre sometimes.

I agree that close to public transport is ideal.

If you're not going to book with hotel chains you're already loyal to then try booking with hotels.com. I think you get a night free after 10 stays or something which is a nice way to reduce cost. But use google to do the search and narrow it down.

number_6

The Adina (serviced apt) by Central railway station might suit you https://www.tfehotels.com/brands/adi...ntral/location costs well under GBP 100 most of the time (Sydney prices can double with demand as there is a shortage of hotel rooms).

Another choice in Pyrmont is the Star casino which often has well-priced rooms and is a great location.

LadyB

Thank you, that's really helpful. I've pretty much narrowed down our preferred area & have also decided that a serviced apartment is probably the way to go.

I've looked at Oaks & Adina & they look to be suitable, I'll be looking at places I can cancel if need be, although no reason to atm. I had thought of staying in 2 separate places as we can leave some luggage at our daughter's place when we head off to Queensland so can be easily retrieved on return to Sydney.

I use Booking.com already & like that one can draw a map and search easily. We don't have any loyalty programmes going on so opens up choices.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

LadyB

Just to update, we've booked Meriton serviced apartments on Kent St., it's a short distance from our daughter's place but away from what looks like a huge flyover beside Oaks Goldsbrough apartments.

We didn't use booking.com instead I booked direct with Meriton and have reserved for almost £100 less than booking.com wanted.

The next challenge is to find a nice hotel for 3 nights in Cairns 😀

Exec_Plat

I read that Port Douglas might be a nicer place to stay....

Goldiemom

I would stay in Palm Cove or Port Douglas over Cairns.

LadyB

An Aussie friend has given me the very same advice tonight, I'll look into PD, thank you

LadyB

Port Douglas accommodation is booked, thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

travelinterpreters

We just stayed at a REALLY nice airbnb in Cairns for the last few days. The one we stayed at would fit a family and was less than $100 a night

NZbutterfly

Don't know where you booked but a lot of the accommodation was on the main road on the way in. There's apparently a free shuttle into town and back.

If you're doing a snorkel tour to the reef then aim for silver sonic. It's double hulled, smaller group and my tour person recommended it as another tour. I went with wavelength which is single hull because they went to opal reef which had good trip advisor reviews. We also went to tongue reef then a turtle cleaning station and saw 5 turtles (my favourite!) If you get motion sickness just take the tablets. Most of the bad reviews on trip advisor seemed to stem from weather and associated motion sickness. Quicksilver is a massive double hull. Just depends on your preferences.

LadyB

Thanks NZ Butterfly, I have been looking into snorkel trips and Silver Sonic is starting to look like my favourite. Someone at work went out on Quicksilver and hated it, far too many people. I've got time to do lots of research but its always good to get recommendations so thanks.

We're staying at Central Plaza, which from memory is on Davidson (Davison?) Street. It looks to be pretty central and walking distance from restaurants, bars etc.

I'm looking at booking the Meriton Apartments on Kent for our 2nd week in Sydney. I've checked it out, it's within budget which we upped due to how expensive Sydney is and it's handy for our daughter. She's going to check it all out for us but it looks perfectly suitable.

I appreciate all the advice given, please keep it coming!

diningdecadence

bit late to the piece, but i think you'll be happier staying on the CBD side of darling harbour than the pyrmont side. closer walk to attractions, food etc. Pyrmont is nice enough, but with your current location everything is a 5-10 minute walk and perfect for public transport. (i assume you'll be heading to the beach at some point given you're coming in our summer!)

Annalisa12

Good choices. I'm a Sydneysider here. The Oaks is sort of out of the way so good you didn't stay there. Husband's work booked him in there once and he had his car broken in to there.

I have not stayed at Meriton apartments in Kent but have friends that stay there in a group. I think you might be a close walking distance to Chinatown for a nice dinner.